Sorry for the long wait. Thank you for reading and leaving feedback, everyone! It makes my day :)
This chapter will pave the way for the rest of the story. Enjoy :D
Chapter 26 –Meeting the Avars Part II
It took a few days for everyone to settle in and with the new guests in the Adame, most of the rooms were occupied by now. The Balaam household was usually very quiet and more so after Safiya left a few months ago. Soran welcomed the extra bodies in his home and of course he was ecstatic to see Cera. He felt he had more of a bond with her than with Arielle ever since they were children.
Meanwhile Cera, Mirac, Soran and his new wife, Pamira, sat together in the sitting room. Being all around the same age they were able to talk about things that they couldn't with their elder siblings, parents and other adults around. They were very talkative except for Pamira. She sat in silence next to Soran, spaced out and ignored the conversations.
Cera noticed the Persian's silence and waved her hand to the men to stop talking. Mirac and Soran quieted down and Cera snapped her fingers at Pamira to which she finally looked up from gazing at the floor. Cera smiled and signed quickly.
Pamira raised an eyebrow and turned to Soran so he could translate the silent language.
"Um, she says you're very pretty," he told her.
She sadly smiled. "Thank you, princess…"
Cera animated her emotions and spread her arms outward with a big smile. Soran watched her hands carefully while his new wife remained in the dark and very confused. Cera nodded her head to Soran and relied on him to relay her words.
"She says that she wants you to feel welcome in our family and…" he watched Cera sign some more, "and to not be worried because…we will take care of you and…you are a princess of the Hun Empire now so you're one of us," he concluded.
Pamira wasn't very involved in her family's political affairs but she did know that the Sassanians were friends of the Huns but her family didn't like the Sassanians or the Huns. What she did know was that the little time she'd spent with the Huns she was treated very well and with such kindness but the adjustment was difficult for her and the realization of being married to a Hun prince hadn't sunk in yet.
She graciously accepted what Cera said. "Thank you. I'm trying my best but…this isn't my home. Everything is different here –the clothes, the food, the culture."
Soran understood completely but he couldn't really relate on her level. "I'll do my part to make you feel more at home, Pamira. If you want anything and I mean anything, I'll make sure you get it. My father loves to spoil the women in his life," he whispered. "He puts my sister up on a gold pedestal."
"And since me and Cera will be staying for awhile we can do stuff together," said Mirac. "I'm sure you and Cera will become good friends."
Cera smiled at the nervous Persian. Pamira sighed and eyed the three Huns sitting in front of her. "I suppose I'll have to learn how to communicate with you, princess."
"I can teach you," Soran says and his wife grinned.
Drums outside alarmed the four and Soran jumped off the floor and ran to the window. He saw Xena and Gabrielle riding through the gates with a huge army behind them and it definitely wasn't the Balaam army. He sensed trouble brewing.
XXXXXX
"I can't believe you arranged this marriage between Pamira and Soran!" Navaz yelled.
Arielle folded her arms and stared at her parents who were furious. They both had the same disdainful expression on their faces and she began to laugh. Anastasia narrowed her eyes and turned to Navaz and crossed her arms.
"What is so funny, Arielle? There is nothing funny about this," said the khatun.
"It's just unusual to see both of my parents together, agreeing on the same thing." Arielle kept smiling and uncrossed her arms. "Anyway, what's done is done, mother. I got the decree signed by grandma and she's above both of you so I don't think we need to have this conversation."
Navaz grunted. "Leave it to your mother to complicate matters."
"This isn't my mother's work! It's clearly our daughter's."
"But she signed the decree so it's her doing too," he argued.
Arielle sighed listening to her parents and slipped away from the conversation, almost going unnoticed.
"We're not done here!" Ana shouted.
"There's no point in arguing about this. You're so tense. Why don't you two go have sex or something? You obviously need it."
Anastasia's face turned bright red. "Küstah!"
"Did I stutter?" the queen chuckled at her parents' embarrassed faces. "You think I don't know what you two do when you're alone? Please." She scoffed. "Shouldn't you two be married to have sex or does that rule only apply to me? Oh but wait, mother wasn't married when she had my brother so I guess you're both hypocrites." She smiles and marched out of the room.
Navaz and Ana stood frozen, staring at the doorway. He inhaled deeply and smoothed a hand over his salt and pepper hair. "She's your daughter from now on."
She grimaced and jabbed his ribs with her elbow and he gasped for air.
XXXXXX
Xena and Gabrielle walked in with Khagana Jiulu after having a brief discussion with Zolten who almost didn't allow the three of them entry into the Adame. The Avar army was stationed outside until further notice. Upon arriving in the foyer the khagana looked around, taking everything in.
During the ride over from Scythia Gabrielle was wary of the paled skinned blonde Avar woman. She couldn't get a good read on her but her wife didn't seem too concerned about Jiulu's intentions. She knew that Xena was very good at reading people most of the time and the khagana wasn't a threat since she came willingly with a set of rules to follow but Gabrielle was very cautious.
They waited in the foyer for someone to alert Arielle about their arrival. Xena's eyes glanced over at the thin blonde Avar who smiled at her. She sensed Gabrielle was giving the woman an ultimate stare down and nudged her arm.
"Stop staring at her. You've been gawking at her ever since we left Scythia," she whispered.
"I don't understand why she wants to ally with us!" she hisses. "We don't know anything about her or the Avar people. She could be another Boareks for all we know."
Xena rocked back and forth on the heels of her boots, waiting impatiently for Arielle. "She agreed to come into the Adame unarmed. Don't think for a second that I'm not watching her."
Arielle walked in and immediately her eyes went to the guest. She greeted her grandmother with a bow of her head and smiled at Gabrielle.
"Good to see that you've returned quickly and I see you brought a guest. Who is this?"
Gabrielle stepped in front of her wife. "This is Khagana Jiulu of the Avars. She's been ruling over Scythia for the last ten years."
"I had no idea," she says with surprise. "Queen Arielle," she held out her hand and Jiulu took her hand. "I've never heard of the Avars. What does khagana stand for? Queen?"
Jiulu grins at the youthful queen. "It is the equivalent of an Empress," she says and Arielle's eyes widened. "I rule over the entire Pontic Steppe. I know it is a bit overdue but I commend your people for dismantling the Sabir Empire. They were a menace to my people."
"I see Queen Boareks was also a problem for you, empress," says Arielle nervously.
She felt so small right now standing before this woman. An empress! She's only been around the Chinese empresses and that was intimidating enough. Now she understood why she had to behave around people with a higher status than her but when she was younger she didn't care about formalities.
Jiulu laughs lightly. "Boareks would never step foot in my empire, your highness. I crushed her several times when she tried to invade. I taxed her people so heavily that she left the Pontic Steppe region and moved to Siberia. She became China's problem and unfortunately your problem as well."
Xena sighed heavily. "That woman is still talked about even in death," she muttered. Her wife elbowed her and she winced. "We have a lot of discussion ahead of us, Arielle. Khagana Jiulu came back with us because she wants an alliance."
"Oh…" Arielle smiled nervously. "Follow me. We can discuss in our conference room." She waved her hand and walked down the hall.
They rounded the corner and Gabrielle gasped. "Anastasia?"
Ana stopped bickering with Navaz and turned at the sound of the governor's voice. She smiled and hastily walked over to her mother and Gabrielle. She hugged them both and lifted the veil over her head.
"What are you doing here?" Xena asked.
"That's a long story but I have news," Ana's smile grew.
"I can't take any more surprises right now. Did something happen in Banat?"
"No, well, I don't know but we'll talk more later." She sensed her mother's angst. "It's good news, I swear."
Xena hummed softly and grabbed her daughter's arm and continued down the hall. "I hope so but we need to go to the conference room. We're discussing an alliance with the Avar Empress."
"What?" Ana spun around, eyes blinking rapidly. "The who?"
XXXXXX
Sukhra slammed his hand on the meeting table, gaping at all of his sons and Shehzade Kawus. "Those Huns took my daughter!" he shouted.
"I'm aware and I know for a fact that my brother is working with the Huns, Sukhra. I say we bring our armies together and march towards White Hun territory." Kawus suggested.
Sukhra settled down in his chair and scratched his beard. "What does the Shah have to say about this? Is he aware that Shehzade Xerxes is a traitor of his people?"
Kawus smiles and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. He eyes all of the Karens who were more than furious to come back and find Pamira missing. He already planned to take his mother out of the palace because once his father finds out that they conspired to get rid of Banu Nousha, the Shah would behead everyone involved.
"My father is too incompetent to be the ruler of our empire. We'll march our armies to Lake Thospia which borders Persia and Armenia. We need to get rid of the root of our problem immediately and that is wiping out the White Huns."
Sukhra liked this idea and nodded in agreement. "And then we will dethrone the Shah and put in you in place, Shehzade?"
"Precisely."
"What about your brothers? Will they revolt against this rebellion and join the Huns?" asks Sukhra with concern.
"If they stand in my way then I'll have no choice but to kill them or force them to surrender to me," Kawus concluded. "Do you have any questions? I have troops ready to move on my command."
XXXXXX
Khagana Jiulu spent the majority of the meeting speaking and her coughing into a napkin did not go unnoticed by everyone in the room. She explained she wanted to join the Hun Empire because she could no longer control the Pontic Steppe and Scythia by herself. Casually, Arielle interrupted several times and went forth to ask several questions about the military and Avar Empire.
Xena and Gabrielle were surprised to see how the young queen was handling this meeting. Aside from Navaz and Anastasia being present, they hardly said anything and let their daughter speak for them. Jiulu was more than receptive and willingly answered all of Arielle's questions in great detail.
She also mentioned she was not married nor did she have any heirs to take over the empire once she was gone. It was a major factor in her decision to consort with the Huns to take control of her people and army. She didn't want to leave her empire in the hands of the Persians and with the resurgence of the Gepid-Frank alliance; she was bound to have issues with them sooner than later.
Gabrielle wrote down all of the dialogue exchange between Arielle and Jiulu. There was a long moment of silence so she could finish her last sentence and she read over the couple of pages she recorded and looked around the table.
She interjected, "Khagana, it says here in your documents that you have an army of four hundred thousand men. Is that number correct?"
Jiulu nods and wiped her mouth with the cloth in hand. "Yes, governor, that's correct. You're more than welcome to take my army and use them to fight off the Persians. I understand you have a bit of an issue with them."
"Yes but this is the work of Shehzade Kawus, so Xerxes says," Gabrielle met eyes with the Persian prince.
Xena tapped her fingers against her cheek and cleared her throat. "I don't understand why you've waited so long to come to us, Khagana."
The blonde Avar coughed in the napkin and stared at the khanum. "To put it simply, I cannot remain in Scythia and my homeland at once. I've traveled back and forth to both places and it has put quite a strain on my body. Your empire is very large and so is mine, if not larger. I have not come here to start a war with the Huns, which is why I want an alliance. Do I make myself clear?"
"Hmm," Xena looks to her granddaughter. "Xerxes is our commander now and Arielle is the queen and de facto for my daughter. We have more family in Banat. Does your alliance extend to the other two kings as well?"
"As I said, my army is yours. I do not wish to continue this debate any longer." Jiulu stood up slowly with the help of Kuba, her assistant and confidant. "I'll leave you all to discuss and I hope to hear a decision made by tomorrow. I will retire to the room you've provided for me."
She and Kuba left the room and Arielle exhaled with a heavy sigh. "Four hundred thousand men!" she exclaimed. "That's three times the amount of our army! And with Eksama in Pannonia she probably got rid of our soldiers. We should take the Empress' offer and ally with her. I don't see a downside to this."
Xena held up her hand. "I'm not saying it's a bad idea but this woman has come out of nowhere. I want to express that caution to you, Arielle."
"I know it's sudden, grandma, but think about it! We'll have a massive army. I'll give you a position too, that is if you want it?" She grins and eyes her parents who frowned her way. "What?"
"Gabrielle and I are willing to help you as much as we can but I don't want any arguments. You do everything we say. Got it?"
Arielle nodded and jumped up from the chair. "Yes, grandma. I will do everything you say. I promised I would when I started this campaign." She sent a smile towards Xerxes. "Would you like to help me round up the Avar soldiers?" she asked him.
"Of course, your highness," Xerxes grinned and side eyed Navaz. He stood and quickly rounded the table and stood by the doors to wait for Arielle.
Navaz watched his daughter leave with the Persian and furrowed his eyebrows. A laugh came from the opposing party and he snapped his head towards the snickering governor.
"Why are you making that face, Navaz?" Gabrielle continues to chuckle while she organized the records.
"He is too comfortable with her."
"More than you know," she mumbles and playfully hit Xena's knee under the table.
"Did you say something?" he leans forward, pressing his hands on the table.
Gabrielle and Xena brought their lips to a tight smile. "Nope."
XXXXXX
That afternoon everyone spread out through the Adame. All was quiet minus the musicians playing flutes and string instruments in the women's quarters. Shortly after the meeting with the Avar Empress, the news of Cera couldn't be contained by Anastasia any longer. She spilled the news to her mother and Gabrielle and after they changed clothes and unpacked their belongings they sat with Cera.
Cera nervously stared at her grandmother who kept smiling. She didn't know how long one could keep smiling like that for a long time. Gabrielle had much of the same expression. Sitting in silence was normal for her but this was a bit different.
She signs, "Why are you two staring at me like that?"
Xena was about to answer until her overly excited wife blurted out, "we're just very happy for you! Your mother was bursting at the seams to tell us. Are we going to have a party? Is Mirac's family going to come to Balaam? I wonder if they have senliks in Kazakhstan. I remember they weren't very popular here. Where's Yana? Did she not come with you and Mirac?"
"Gabrielle!" she slapped her wife's arm. "For god's sake, let the poor girl answer one question at a time. You're worse than Anastasia," she chided then smiled at her granddaughter. "Go head, tatli kiz."
The princess hesitantly raised her hands to speak. "Yana went to her tribe to take care of a few things. She's going to ask her stepdaughter, Nadia, to be in charge so she can be with me in Balaam."
"That's very kind of Yana. I can tell she cares a lot about you. She may not show it very well and she's a little rough around the edges but…"
"Is there a point to this?" Gabrielle said with a raised brow.
"I was just trying to say that Yana's a kind person!" Xena groaned. "You're getting on my nerves."
"You get on my nerves all the time but I never say it," she argues and received a whack to her leg. "One of these days I'm going hit you while you're sleeping. I'm keeping count of how many times you hit me just to let you know."
The khanum released a heavy sigh and turned to Cera who was giggling at the banter. "Anyway, back to you. Your mother told me that you've been very sick and that you can't eat anything. I know the sight of food repulses you right now but you should at least try. It'll pass."
"Unless you're like Yeter," says Gabrielle. Her wife narrowed her eyes and pinched her arm. "Ow! I'm just saying the truth! Yeter was sick the entire time she was pregnant!"
Cera's jaw dropped and she seemed to recall that when she was a lot younger due to sharing a yurt with Ursula for awhile. She wrapped an arm around her stomach and allowed the fear to settle in. Sometimes her body rebelled against water so she wasn't sure she could handle the rest of her pregnancy in misery like this.
Xena shoved her wife backwards on the pillows and grinned cheekily at the redheaded princess. "Don't listen to her, Cera. It happens to everybody. It happened to me, your mother, your sister and Farah. Yeter's case isn't uncommon but she had a lot of other complications that won't happen to you. Just focus on you."
Keeping count, the blonde inwardly thought. Aside from the small insignificant tiffs she had with her wife, she tried to ignore her and put all the attention on Cera. Smoothing out her hair, she adjusted on the large pillow and quickly pinched her wife's thigh before speaking once more.
"So Cera, have you decided to stay in Balaam for a year? I know your mother will want to stay with you for awhile."
Initially Cera didn't know she was going to be brought here and the thought of staying a year after the birth never occurred to her. She knew her mother was very persistent about helping and she didn't mind. There were a lot of things going through her mind and she forgot the most important thing of all. The one thing that had haunted her almost all her life didn't seem significant until now.
She raised her brown eyes and met her grandmother's eyes. "My child will know everyone's voice but…mine," she pointed to her chest.
Joking aside, Gabrielle looked to her wife forlornly. "Mirac will be there to help you and I know he loves you to the moon and back, Cera. I've seen the way that boy looks at you." She tried to reassure the princess.
Xena nodded. "You don't need to say a word to let your child know that you love him or her."
Cera's bottom lip quivered and she burst into tears. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed profusely. Xena crinkled her eyebrows and scooted over and wrapped her arms around the princess' thin body, holding her close.
"I'm sorry that a piece of you was taken away from you, Cera. If I could, I'd do anything to take back what was stolen from you." She kissed the top of the girl's head.
Gabrielle frowned and rose from the floor. "I'm going to get some water."
She quietly excused herself and on her way out she bumped into Pamira who was there for the entire last bit of the conversation. Pamira stared concernedly at the sobbing princess. The thought of Cera's muteness correlating with her unborn child had occurred to Pamira since their first meeting together.
"The princess is very upset," she gathered. "Was she born with the inability to speak?"
"She had an accident when she was a little girl. It almost cost her life."
Pamira gaped at the princess for a long while then grabbed Gabrielle's arm just as she was leaving. "Governor I think I can help her –help her have a better connection with her baby I mean."
This interested Gabrielle and she eyed Cera then Pamira. "Really?" she sounded skeptical.
"Yes but I'm going to need a kamancheh. It's a bowed string instrument from Persia. I could offer to teach her how to play it."
"That actually sounds like a really nice idea."
Pamira emits a genuine smile, finally feeling like a piece of her homeland could be brought to light. "I will tell Soran to have a kamancheh delivered to the Adame. I hope she'll be open to the idea."
Gabrielle placed a hand on the Persian's shoulder. "Cera has an artist's soul. I think she will love the idea of learning how to play an instrument. It's a very thoughtful gesture of you Pamira," she complimented and saw the girl shyly turn away. "I know this is not how you envisioned your life but I think you will be fine living here. It just takes some getting used to."
XXXXXX
Despite being surrounded by all of her cousins, aunts and uncles, Aurora was lonely. She was kept in the dark about the politics in the empire and she didn't care for political jargon but she wanted to know what was going on. She did eventually find out that Eksama stole their homeland and that's why they moved to Banat temporarily.
She did like living in the huge Szekely palace and she had a suite all to herself which was a nice touch too. She had everything she ever wanted but now that her mother, grandmother and great grandmother were gone, she felt lonelier than ever. Being the only princess in the palace was not very fun even though she liked playing with the princes she wished Princess Maria was older so she'd have someone to play with and talk to.
Aurora laid on her bed with her head hanging upside down over the edge. She kept staring at the wall to cleanse her boredom. The door opened and she turned her head to see who it was. Once she saw her uncle, Csaba, come in, she went back to her daily activity.
Csaba cocked his head bemusedly. "What are you doing?"
"Staring at the wall. What does it look like I'm doin'?"
He recognized that sassy tone which reminded him of Arielle. He sat down on the bed and pulled her upright. "I thought you might want to practice some archery?"
She picked at the loose strings on her black tights under her dress. "No thanks."
He wondered if his mother ever felt this lonely when his grandmother was gone for long periods. He knew that Arielle was lonely at this age when their mother was absent. He wished that he could do something to help but trying to juggle war, politics, kingship and his own family was challenging.
"I know you miss your mother, Aurora but I know she misses you too. You'll see her again."
The princess grumbled. "How come my daddy doesn't come see me? He used to always do that."
Csaba knew it wasn't his place but he was disappointed his sister didn't tell her the truth about Bayan. He picked up his niece and settled her in his lap. She stared up at him with her big eyes and he brushed her wavy hair away from her face.
"Aurora," he sighs, "your parents got a divorce a long time ago."
It was at that moment her world came crashing down on her face and it showed on her face. He smiled softly and kissed her hand gently.
"A divorce?" she whispers. Her uncle nodded. "Why?"
"Well…" he tried his best to explain this as clearly as possible. "Your father hurt your mother a lot." He saw the fear in her eyes. "He didn't hit her," he immediately cleared that up. "But he doesn't love her anymore."
Aurora nodded as she processed this news. "'Cause he likes Sarnai, right?"
He frowned and his miffed silence was enough to validate her question.
"I hear Ku and mommy fight about her a lot." It was like she knew everything already which disturbed Csaba even more. "Did they get married?"
"Um…yes."
Aurora sighed heavily and leaned her head on his chest. "Why did he do that?"
Csaba wasn't sure how to answer this little child's question. He was surprised at how well she was taking this but it appeared she knew all along but needed confirmation. She definitely was more mature than Arielle at this age. He remembered how outrageous Arielle was as a child but that didn't change throughout her teen and young adult years either.
"I don't know," he sadly admitted. Aurora snuggled close and wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled and squeezed her tightly.
Ku walked into the room with a basket of clothes. She closed the doors and halted. "Your highness," she felt guilt for interrupting.
"Hello, Ku." He said and Aurora turned her head.
"Halu, look what I have." She pulled out a letter hidden in her dress, with a wax seal on it and the princess furrowed her eyebrows. "A letter from your mother."
Aurora gasped and hopped off her uncle's lap and ran to her caretaker. She snatched the letter out of her hands and ripped the wax seal off. She barely recognized some of the words and ran back to Csaba, waving the letter in his face.
"Can you help me read this?" she asks politely.
"Sure but what do you say to Ku?"
She spun around. "Thank you, Ku-Ilm." She placed the letter in Csaba's lap. "Read it!" she ordered. "Please?"
XXXXXX
Instead of eating together as a family, everyone was scattered all over the place. Anastasia wanted some stability in her life but at this rate, that was impossible to attain. Arielle was outside with Xerxes somewhere and Navaz was off with Soran doing god knows what. Cera and Mirac retired for the evening. That left Ana, Xena, Gabrielle, Pamira and Nousha in the women's quarters. Alone.
Pamira tried her best to fit in with all of the Huns and sat with the khatun, khanum and governor to share dinner with them. She expressed her idea to teach Cera how to play the kamancheh and Anastasia was pleased to hear the idea especially after what her mother told her what happened earlier.
Xena picked at her wife's plate even though she had her own food. She was almost stabbed with a fork a couple of times but was able to steal small bits and pieces.
"You know, if you wanted some of my food, you could've just asked."
"There's no fun in that, Gabrielle." Her hand slithered across and she nabbed a piece of flat bread stuffed with onions.
"That's it. You can have it." She shoved her plate across the rug over to her thieving wife.
Anastasia rolled her eyes and grabbed a pinch of rice with her fingers and stuffed into her mouth. "You two sound like children." She wiped the juices of the lamb with a piece of bread and looked over the feuding women at Nousha, or her outline of what she could see.
"Is Nousha still sitting by herself?"
Xena playfully shoved the plate back towards Gabrielle and snickered. "Oh Ana, you don't want to open that vessel."
"I've been here for a week now and she hasn't said a word to me. I don't think she's come out of her room until today."
"She hates us and she doesn't want to be here. She thinks we're garbage and savages," said Xena and poked her wife with the fork.
"Xena!" the governor growled. "Quit it. I don't know what has gotten into you lately."
"I'm just in a good mood. Can I be in a good mood? Or would you rather me be a 'grumpy old lady'?"
Gabrielle huffed. "Is there no middle ground with you?"
"It's like you don't even know me!"
Pamira giggled and wiped her hands off with a cloth. She leaned over to Ana. "Are they always this entertaining, khatun?"
"Give it time." Anastasia wiped her mouth and threw the napkin on her empty plate. "I'm going over to talk to her." she grabbed onto her mother's shoulder to stand up.
"Anastasia I'd strongly reconsider," Xena advised, quickly forgetting about teasing her teed off wife.
Not heeding her mother's words, she waltzed across the room and all eyes were on her. The music kept playing in the background and Gabrielle looked over her shoulder, watching the impending explosion. Anastasia stood in front of the concubine in silence.
Nousha sipped the water and lifted her light eyes to the towering khatun.
"May I sit?" Ana asks.
She set the glass down on the floor and waved her hand. Anastasia sat down on a pillow and although she couldn't see very well, she could feel the woman's hate from a couple feet away. Nousha was reluctant to show any respect to at least greet Anastasia and they watched each other for several silent moments.
"This was a bad idea," whispered Xena.
Gabrielle slapped her wife's hand gingerly. "Shh, I'm trying to listen."
"They're just staring at each other!"
Ana turned her cheek slightly and smiled at the Persian. "My mother likes your son. She doesn't like many men. I heard he helped my daughter when she was very injured back in Persia. I haven't gotten a chance to thank him yet."
The Persian brought her lips into a forced smile. "Khatun, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish by conversing with me but I don't want to talk to you."
In the background, Gabrielle's jaw dropped while eavesdropping on the conversation. Xena gently paddled Pamira's leg to grab her attention. She found the situation very amusing.
"Watch this, she's going to blow up," she whispers.
Anastasia held her tongue and tried not to let anger get the best of her. "Nousha, you are no longer in Persia. You are on my soil now and I think it's best that we have a mutual respect for one another."
"Oh? Are we having this conversation because your daughter is sharing the same bed as my son?" she snaps back.
Ana's eyes widen and she whipped her head to her mother and Gabrielle. They immediately turned around and minded their own business at the sight of her wicked glare.
Nousha snickered and moved the food around on her plate. "This little affair those two have is just temporary. I will put an end to it."
While Ana did not necessarily like that Arielle was having sex with Xerxes, she thought of what her daughter told her earlier about being hypocritical. She accused her own mother of being a hypocrite several times and she definitely was. Everyone had their faults which is why nobody was perfect. She was no different and there was no way she could stop Arielle from doing what she wanted. She tried that before and it only drove her daughter away. She didn't want that to happen again or…anymore.
She swallowed her pride. "If Xerxes treats my daughter well then I don't…have a problem with their relationship. I can't speak for her father but he is a fair and reasonable man. It'd be wise of you to put your feelings aside and be cordial with me."
Nousha snarled and jumped up, throwing the napkin on the floor. "I'd rather die than see my son in a relationship with a Hun whore!" she spat and stormed out.
Xena cringed at that last sentence and her wife also looked a bit out of sorts.
Anastasia walked back over to the trio and sat back down. "That went well."
"I told you not to go over there," says the khanum. "She's like a short ball of fire."
Gabrielle grimaced. "What's wrong with being short?"
"Nothing, nothing," she placates her wife while avoiding all eye contact.
"Are you mocking me?"
"Why are you taking this so personally? She's short and so are you. So what?"
Gabrielle gasps dramatically. "You didn't have to mention her height at all. You only did that because I'm here, admit it."
"Well now you finally have someone on your own level, now don't ya?" she teased. Her short wife shoved her and she reared backwards slightly. "See? Short ball of fire."
Ana sighed and leaned her cheek on her palm. "I'm not going to enjoy sharing this Adame with Nousha especially if Arielle and Xerxes continue to be around each other." She admits sadly. "Can you two stop it? I'm trying to have a serious conversation!"
Xena held the governor's hands so she wouldn't get slapped again for the fifth time. "Anastasia, tatli kiz, don't worry about Nousha. She's never going to like you. Just think of her like…she's Tuya, but worse."
"Oh great," Ana grumbles. "Tuya hated my guts. Ellac and Navaz were lucky to have you as a mother in law. At least you respected them."
"Wow a compliment. You must be down." She struggled to hold her wife's hands. "Gabrielle!"
XXXXXX
Just before dawn, Kuba spent majority of his time writing the treaty for his empress. He finished the last couple of words and blew against the wet ink and walked over to the bed. He stood over Jiulu who was sweating profusely. She coughed in the cloth napkin and spat out a glob of blood. She tossed the napkin on the other side of the bed covered in several other blooded napkins.
He knelt down and grabbed her hand. "Khagana," he whispers and kissed her hand. "If there is anything I can do…"
She breathed in sharply and winced at the pain in her chest. "Did you write it?" she croaks.
He nodded his head rapidly. "I wrote everything down like you told me to." He hesitated and presented the quill pen. "I –I just need your signature."
Jiulu stretched out her thin arm and sat up with the help of her assistant. Even the small task of sitting up was wearing her body down. The trip from Scythia to Balaam pushed her body to the limit and it was a miracle she arrived when she did. She knew that to be fact.
She grabbed the pen and Kuba held her wrist to help her guide her hand on the parchment. Slowly, she signed her name at the bottom and then fell back against the pillows, coughing violently. The treaty was the least of his concerns.
He watched her suffer for years as her illness progressed. A tear streamed down his cheek and he gripped her hand firmly. Jiulu closed her eyes and took in a painful breath and exhaled slowly. Kuba widened his eyes and the tightening in his chest halted his breathing.
The Avar Empress' head lolled to the side and her fingers relaxed in his hold. He held his head and sobbed quietly.
XXXXXX
A few hours after sunrise, Arielle along with her parents, waited in the conference room to have another briefing with Khagana Jiulu. She hoped that her parents were on the same side as her because she wanted ultimate control of the Avar army. She and Xerxes stayed up all night discussing plans to take over Persia.
She was never happier in her life until now. She was all smiles which her mother took note of. Her anxiousness only made her parents agitated, as if they weren't already, given they argued most of the night over their daughter. Anastasia felt like she stepped back in time being back in Balaam. Hardly anything was different between her and Navaz. They argued for awhile and then made up by rolling around in bed together for hours.
The same. Everything was the same.
Kuba entered the room and Arielle's eyes lit up. She searched for the Avar Empress and the doors closed behind Kuba. He came in alone and held a large parchment rolled up in one hand.
"Where is the Khagana?" she inquires.
"I…" he took a pause. "I regret to inform you all that…Khagana Jiulu passed this morning."
Arielle put a hand to her chest. "But…but she was fine yesterday."
"I'm afraid that she has been ill for quite some time, your highness. Her health declined the last couple of years due to a lung disease. I was surprised that she survived the journey to Armenia."
Anastasia shook her head. "I'm sorry." She wondered if that was the same disease Kreka was stricken with. Her illness lasted for a long time and she had a very slow and painful death.
Kuba smiles faintly. "Thank you, khatun." He held back tears. "But she was able to write a treaty and I have it with me." He eyed the monarchs. "Shall I read it?"
The three nodded.
He unrolled the parchment and cleared his throat, eyeing the three Huns for a moment before reading his empress' words.
"Khagana Jiulu of the Avar Khaganate hereby gives her entire empire and army to the Hun Empire: to the Pannonian Huns, the Nezak Huns, and the White Huns indefinitely. It is written that the Avar Khaganate is now in complete control of the Hun Empire which extends from Scythia to the Pontic Steppe.
All of the treasury must be handed over to the Hun Empire effective immediately. Khagana Jiulu states that the treasury be split among the Hun tribes equally.
Lastly…"
Kuba paused and the three waited with heavy anticipation. His hands shakily held the parchment before continuing to read.
"Lastly, the ruler of the Avar Khaganate must belong to one sole person. Khagana Jiulu declares that Queen Arielle of the Hun Empire and House of Khushnavaz renege her title as Hun Queen as she is the new Avar Khagana."
He lowered the parchment. The three gawked at him in silence. Arielle's face whitened three shades at the surprising news.
Navaz stepped forward. "May I see that?" he needed to read this for himself.
"Yes, your highness." Kuba handed over the treaty.
"I…I will be an Empress?" Arielle choked.
"Khagana Arielle." Kuba bowed his head.
